From pkohlmil at best.com Sun Aug 1 21:47:44 2004 From: pkohlmil at best.com (Paul Kohlmiller) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] August Issue of Ephemeris Message-ID: <047501c4784b$da58f5c0$0200a8c0@eclipsys.lan> The August 2004 issue of the SJAA Ephemeris, newsletter of the San Jose Astronomical Association, is available online here: http://ephemeris.sjaa.net Paul and Mary Kohlmiller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20040801/4c2278b9/attachment.html From jvn at svpal.org Tue Aug 3 01:04:24 2004 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] AstroImage 2004, Aug.27-28, Brea, CA Message-ID: <410F4708.DC4@svpal.org> The Orange County Astronomers invite everyone to AstroImage 2004, to be held on August 27-28, in Brea, California. Speakers, vendor exhibits, equipment displays. Special session on Friday evening for beginners to astro imaging. Website: Pre-registration on the site, $59. At door, $65. But if sold out, you will be turned away. I have paper registration forms, but the same thing is on the web, above. You'll need to print and mail the form with a check -- no PayPal. -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's home page From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Tue Aug 3 11:28:35 2004 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Coyote Star Party this Saturday! (8/7) Message-ID: This Saturday, August 7th 2004, between 9:00 and 12:00 p.m. the San Jose Astronomical Association will be hosting the second of a series of public star parties at Coyote Park. Due to its close proximity to San Jose, Coyote park is the one of the most convenient summer observing sites in the area. It is a 45 minute drive from Houge Park with only one short twisty section. Coyote park is an ideal recreation area at the foothills of the Mount Hamilton Range and offers beautiful lake shore hikes, boating and barbecue pits, picnic tables and year round campsites. Through the efforts of SJAA member Denny Woolaghan, astronomical use of Coyote is free during the year. As part of that agreement, the SJAA has agreed to provide Star Party support for the Ranger Program during the summer. The SJAA is happy to have the opportunity to support the Park Rangers in their public program efforts by setting up our telescopes and sharing views with all those present from the campgrounds during these dedicated public observing nights. The Star Party will be at the Lakeview Picnic Area which is located less than 1/4 mile from the Ranger Station/Visitor Center, not at the boat ramp location. I have contacted Ranger Chris Crocket and verified that the ranger staff will be promoting the star party to the campers and that the lights in the bathroom will be turned off. Thank you to all who showed up for the July Star Party. The public was rather light, but we all enjoyed clear skies and a very pleasant night with full bellies. Special thanks to Mrs. Huang for bringing the pot stickers and to Lynne for bringing the Enchiladas. Yum! Continuing with the Coyote Star Party tradition, we will be hosting a "Pot Luck BBQ". Pot luck begins at 7:30 p.m.- bring a main dish.... anything will do from KFC to sushi to crepe suzette to chef's salad to homemade Enchiladas to side dishes, just make it something you like! Bring enough to share. This is an informal pot-luck. Bring your own paper plates and utensils. We will have one of the BBQ pits fired up and ready by 7:15 PM. We provide the flame, you provide the grillables. To reach the park, take Highway 101 to Gilroy; Take the Leavesley Road exit; Follow Leavesley Road east 1.75 miles to New Avenue; Turn left onto New Avenue and proceed north for .6 miles to Roop Road. Turn right onto Roop Road, which turns into Gilroy Hot Springs Road. The park entrance is approximately 3 miles from New Avenue. Turn left onto Coyote Reservoir Road, the park visitor center/ranger station is about one mile from Roop Road. When you enter the park, tell the ranger you are there to support the star party. They will admit you free of charge. The park office phone number is (408) 842-7800. For a map of the Coyote Park area go to: http://www.parkhere.org/scc/assets/docs/330208Coyote%20Lake%20map.pdf Website for Park: http://www.parkhere.org/channel/0,4770,chid%253D16486%2526sid%253D12761,00.html Come on out and support the star party as your way of thanking the staff for making this great observing site available to us. Mike Koop President San Jose Astronomical Association August 7th Star Party Details: Sunset: 8:08 PM Civil Twilight: 8:37 PM Nautical Twilight: 9:11 PM Astronomical Twilight: 9:47 PM Moon Rises: 0:09 AM on Sunday Future Coyote Star Parties: Saturday, September 11th (3rd Quarter Moon) From jvn at svpal.org Thu Aug 5 03:03:27 2004 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Florence Van Nuland, 1933-2004 Message-ID: <411205EF.1054@svpal.org> Hi, All, It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of the death of my wife Florence on August 3, of breast cancer, at age 71. She had been treated in 2001 and seemed to be "clean", but suddenly it roared back. We had celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary in May. She is survived by 5 children and 14 grandchildren. Funeral plans are incomplete. In lieu of flowers, we suggest a donation in her name to your favorite charity, or to the American Cancer Society. -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's home page From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Fri Aug 6 18:52:53 2004 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Meteor Observing Class and SP Tonight! Message-ID: A) Beginning Astro Class Tonight! Meteor Observing with Dr. Peter Jenniskens B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight! (Friday, Aug. 6th, 2004) C) Coyote Star Party Saturday, Aug 7th Look for a Perseid Meteor Party Announcement Soon! ************************************************** A) Beginning Astro Class Tonight! Meteor Observing with Dr. Peter Jenniskens Why are all these stars falling? What is a sporatic meteor? The San Jose Astronomical Association Observational Astronomy Class is here to help you! This informal monthly series will teach basic astronomy, the constellations, the movement of the sky, and the use of the telescope. It occurs every third quarter moon Houge Park Star Party Night until November. No Reservations needed and you can join the class at any time. The class is a free public service provided by the SJAA. Tonights class starts at 7:30 PM in the hall at Houge Park. Dr. Peter Jenniskens is a research scientist at NASA/Ames at the SETI Institute. He has organized many meteor campaigns around the globe, getting scientist from many different disciplines to advance meteor science. This is a do not miss class on how to get the most out of meteor observing! The class finishes with a "Sky Tour" by SJAA President Mike Koop, pointing out how to find the constellations and planets. Weather permitting, after the class we will be pointing out the constellations, planets, and other deep sky wonders through telescopes. ************************************** B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight! (Friday, Aug. 6th, 2004) Tonight, the SJAA hosts public observing session on the grounds at Houge Park. Families are welcome to attend. Feel free to bring your scope and share views with others. We are in the usual summer pattern and expect good weather. Clear Sky Clock for San Jose: http://cleardarksky.com/c/SanJoseCAkey.html?1 NRL Monterey East Pacific & US West Coast Images http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/epac_westcoast.cgi Sunset: 8:09 PM PDT Civil Twilight: 8:38 PM PDT Nautical Twilight: 9:12 PM PDT Astronomical Twilight: 9:49 PM PDT Moonrise: 11:41 PM PDT on Friday 10 Cool Things to Observe Tonight! 1) A Hubble Space Telescope Pass starting at 9:34, mid pas 9:37:47, end pass 9:38:36 Look Just below Spica, to Antares, entereing the Earths shadow just before Sagittarius 2)Mu Cephi: Herschels Garnet Star. One of the Reddest Stars. 3) A Nova in Scorpius, Mag 7.4. The nova's position is RA 17h 29.3 m Dec -31d 46' 4) Coma Berenices Star Cluster 80 Mag. 5-6 Stars in a 5 Degree Field. 288 LY away, 400 Million Years old 6) M 13: Globular Cluster, 23,000 LY, > 300,000 stars, 140 LY across. First recorded by Edmund Halley. 7) M57 The Ring Nebula: 2300 Light Years Away, 6000 to 8000 years old, Diameter of about a light year 8) M11: Wild Duck Cluster: 5600 LY away, 21 LY across. At least 600 stars 9) M8: Lagoon Nebula: Bright Nebula bisected by a dark lane 10) M17 The Swan Nebula: 5000 LY away, brightest part is 12 LY long ************************************** C) Coyote Star Party Saturday, Aug 7th This Saturday, August 7th 2004, between 9:00 and 12:00 p.m. the San Jose Astronomical Association will be hosting the second of a series of public star parties at Coyote Park. The Star Party will be at the Lakeview Picnic Area which is located less than 1/4 mile from the Ranger Station/Visitor Center, not at the boat ramp location. I have contacted Ranger Chris Crocket and verified that the ranger staff will be promoting the star party to the campers and that the lights in the bathroom will be turned off. Continuing with the Coyote Star Party tradition, we will be hosting a "Pot Luck BBQ". Pot luck begins at 7:30 p.m.- bring a main dish.... anything will do from KFC to sushi to crepe suzette to chef's salad to homemade Enchiladas to side dishes, just make it something you like! Bring enough to share. This is an informal pot-luck. Bring your own paper plates and utensils. We will have one of the BBQ pits fired up and ready by 7:15 PM. We provide the flame, you provide the grillables.. For More Information and Directions: http://www.whiteoaks.com/pipermail/sjaa-announce/2004-August/000351.html ************************************** Directions to Houge Park: Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos. >From Hwy.17, take the Camden Avenue exit. Go east 4/10 mile, and turn right at the light, onto Bascom Avenue. At the next light, turn left onto Woodard Road. At the first stop sign, turn right onto Twilight Drive. Go three blocks, cross Sunrise Drive, then turn left into the park. >From Hwy.85, take the Bascom Avenue exit. Go north 0.2 miles, and turn right at the first traffic light, onto White Oaks Road. Run another 0.2 miles to the first stop sign, then turn left onto Twilight Drive. You will now be passing the park. Turn right at the first driveway, into the parking lot. See Map at http://www.sjaa.net/img/houge.jpg *********************************** Clear Skies, Mike Koop President, SJAA Email any comments, questions, or flames to Koopm at best.com From jvn at svpal.org Sun Aug 8 01:08:45 2004 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Florence Van Nuland, funeral Message-ID: <4115DF8D.578D@svpal.org> Hi, All, Thank you for the many notes of condolences. Life will go on. The funeral will be on Monday at 9:30, in St.Lucy Catholic Church, Campbell. It is on the east side of Winchester Avenue, 0.5 miles south of Campbell Avenue, opposite a mall with a Safeway store. Internment will be in Sutter Creek, Amador County, later in the week. -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's home page From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Mon Aug 9 22:58:48 2004 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Where to Observe the Perseids! (Scopes Needed!) Message-ID: A) The Details on this years Perseid Meteor Shower B) Perseid Meteor Watch at Montebello Open Space Reserve on Wed Aug 11/12 C) Perseid Meteor Watch at Fremont Peak on Wed Aug 11/12 D) Meteor Watch at Calero on Wed & Thurs, Aug 11 & 12 SCOPES NEEDED E) Meteor Watch at Villa Montalvo on Thurs. Aug 12/13 SCOPES NEEDED *************************************************************************** A) The Details on this years Perseid Meteor Shower It is August and time for everyones favorite meteor shower, the Perseids! This years Perseids should put on a good show since the moon does not rise until 3 AM, and only a 14% moon at that. Dave Nugent, a member of the Leonid MAC team, has put together an applet showing how the rates will increase during the night. Input your general location (San Francisco), where you will be observing from (Downtown, Suburbs, Countryside, or Mountain Top) and your estimated meteor rate will be plotted. It quickly shows how many more meteors you will observe when you go out to dark skies. It also demonstrates when the best time to observe is: always 5 AM, just before nautical twilight, when the Earth is heading almost directly into the Perseid Meteoroids. The SJAA is helping to host a few meteor watches on Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning, Aug 11/12 and on Thursday Night/Friday Morning, Aug 12/13. Please consider attending the Calero or Villa Montalvo events and bring a telescope to share other celestial wonders with the public. ************ Wednesday Night / Thursday Morning Details, Aug 11/12: Time Predicted Rates (YMMV) 9:00 PM 8.2 10:00 PM 16.0 11:00 PM 24.5 12:00 AM 35.5 1:00 AM 48.2 2:00 AM 62.5 3:00 AM 77.2 4:00 AM 91.5 5:00 AM 104.3 Peak 106.9 Peak Time 5:16 AM Sunset: 8:04 PM PDT Civil Twilight: 8:32 PM PDT Nautical Twilight: 9:05 PM PDT Astronomical Twilight: 9:41 PM PDT Moonrise: 2:51 AM PDT on Thursday Morning, 14% Astronomical Twilight: 4:45 AM Nautical Twilight: 5:20 AM Civil Twilight: 5:54 AM Sunrise: 6:22 AM ************ Thursday Night /Friday Morning Details, Aug 12/13: Time Predicted Rates (YMMV) 9:00 PM 7.4 10:00 PM 13.3 11:00 PM 19.8 12:00 AM 27.4 1:00 AM 35.6 2:00 AM 44.1 3:00 AM 52.1 4:00 AM 58.9 5:00 AM 64.1 Peak 64.9 Peak Time 5:16 AM Sunset: 8:03 PM PDT Civil Twilight: 8:31 PM PDT Nautical Twilight: 9:04 PM PDT Astronomical Twilight: 9:41 PM PDT Moonrise: 3:47 AM PDT on Friday Morning, 7% Astronomical Twilight: 4:46 AM Nautical Twilight: 5:21 AM Civil Twilight: 5:55 AM Sunrise: 6:22 AM *************** Some Websites for Meteor Watching: The Fluxtimator: http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html Meteor Photography Tips: http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/leonids/phototips.html General Perseid Observing Notes: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_1289_1.asp http://www.space.com/spacewatch/040806_perseid_guide.html http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ss&id=77 Possible Perseid Meteor Outburst for Europe: http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/perseid/perseids.asp *********************************************************************** B) Perseid Meteor Watch at Montebello Open Space Reserve on Wed Aug 11/12 "TAC and SJAA is pleased to announce a great Perseid viewing opportunity at the Montebello Open Space Preserve parking lot above Palo Alto starting the sundown August 11. See http://observers.org/sites/MOSP/ This should be a very busy night for high places above Silicon Valley. TAC has secured a special use permit to observe behind the gate at the MB Parking lot. Please join us on the night of August 11 until dawn of August 12. We expect a lot of traffic, so here are some rules to make your evening enjoyable. 1. Try to arrive at or before sunset. The lot will fill up fast with families, mattresses, bino chair and telescopes. When the lot fills up, the gate will be closed to parking. We expect this to happen around 10pm, or earlier. 2. If the lot gate is closed, you may park in the Los Trancos lot across the street if it is not full. The gate will be open until them. If Los Trancos is full, you can go up to Sky Line ranger station (about 1 mile up) and fend for yourself. 3. DO NOT PARK on Page Mill Road. You will be towed and cited. So arrive early. 4. NO FIRES. NO BBQ's. NO STOVES. NO SMOKING. 5. No "Camping". But bringing mattresses, lawn chairs, etc is ok. Bring your telescopes, binos, and your family and friends. There's no limit to the number of people we can have there, just the number of cars. There are restroom facilities, but no water. Alcoholic beverages are discouraged. Be discreet :-) 6. There will be white light throughout the evening. Don't even think of imaging if that bothers you :-) See you there...and remember, come EARLY to stake your spot." James Turley Questions? jturley SkyImagelab com ******************************************************************** C) Perseid Meteor Watch at Fremont Peak on Wed Aug 11/12 Dr. Peter Jenniskens and Mike Koop will be up at the Observatory at Fremont Peak State Park running the usual array of intensified video cameras and spectrometers to capture the meteors. We invite meteor observers and the general public to join us for the evening. Please park in the Telephone or southwest parking lot. Make sure to pay the $4.00 "day use" fee by the phone, although we expect that the ranger will be collecting the fee when you enter the park. From there, walk on up to the observatory. No reservations necessary. Directions: http://www.sjaa.net/fpk.html Questions? Email Mike Koop at koopm best com ************************************************************** D) Perseid Meteor Watch at Calero on Wed. and Thurs. Aug 11/12 and 12/13 SCOPES NEEDED The Santa Clara County Park and Recreation Department has requested that the SJAA support the following public program with telescopes: >From Website: http://www.parkhere.org/channel/0,4770,chid%253D16221%2526sid%253D12761,00.html Wednesday, August 11 & Thursday, August 12 Calero: The Sky is Falling 8:30-11:30pm Spend an interesting evening with Park Rangers under shooting stars of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Bring a blanket or chair to sit on. Reservations required, call (408) 268-3883. The park department is restricting the number of tickets to 75 per night. We get into the park for free AND we have permission to stay the whole night if we would like. Please stay at least until 11:30 in support of the public program. Jim Van Nuland has more of the details on his school star party website at: http://www.svpal.org/~jvn/current.htm Please email Jim at jvn svpal org and koopm best com to reserve a spot on Wednesday or Thursday Night. DRIVING: From Hwy 85, exit at Almaden Expressway. Go south. SE E ~5.0 mi. to Harry Road. Light. Right. This is at the end of Almaden Expwy. SW 0.1 mi. to McKean Road. Stop sign. Left. SE E ~5.2 mi, to park entrance, see sign, right side. The road passes the boat ramp at Calero Reservoir, then about a mile later, pass Bailey Road on the left. Continue about another mile, see sign for the park, on the right. Make hard right turn and enter the park. ************************************** E) Meteor Watch at Villa Montalvo on Thurs. Aug 12/13 SCOPES NEEDED Villa Montalvo is running a special event for it's members where they get to sleep on the lawn of Montalvo for the evening and observe the Perseid meteors. They will have activities for the kids, a lecture on meteors, and movies showing at the Garden theater. The SJAA has been asked to bring telescopes in support of the program, showing the usual celestial wonders. Note that Montalvo is charging for this program, but it is a benefit in support of the arts center which is run there. This is a RARE opportunity to observe from the grounds of Montalvo not to be missed. We need to be there at 8 PM. Please stay till 1 AM. If you can stay the whole night, we will get feed breakfast with the rest of the participants, hosted by the Santa Clara County Fire department! Details on the event: http://www.villamontalvo.org/eventdetails.asp?i=162 More Details: http://www.villamontalvo.org/cover_072804.html Directions: Montalvo 15400 Montalvo Road Saratoga, CA 95071 >From San Francisco: Hwy 280 South. Exit Hwy 85 South. Drive 4.1 miles and exit at Saratoga Avenue. Turn right onto Saratoga Avenue Drive 1.8 miles to downtown Saratoga. Turn left at light onto Hwy 9 / Saratoga - Los Gatos Road. Drive 1/3 mile and turn right onto Montalvo Road. Continue 1 mile to Montalvo grounds. >From San Jose: Hwy 280 North to Hwy 17 South. Take the second Los Gatos Exit (Los Gatos, Saratoga, Hwy 9). Continue 3.5 miles. Turn left onto Montalvo Road. Continue 1 mile to Montalvo grounds. If you are interested in participating, please email Mike Koop at koopm best com to reserve a spot on Thursday Night. ************************************** Clear Skies and many bright meteors! Mike Koop President San Jose Astronomical Association From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Wed Aug 11 17:11:19 2004 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] lecture announcement Message-ID: <002f01c48000$e4c4e200$60d9fea9@Turtlerock> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Denni Medlock" To: Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 2:52 PM Subject: [AANC Contacts] lecture announcement Chabot Space & Science Center, as part of its Distinguished Lecturer Series, is presenting Mark Stephen Mir, Research Fellow of the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, speaking on, "The Mechanics of Heaven: Jesuit Astronomers at the Qing Court." This presentation will discuss the cross-cultural influence of the arrival of the Jesuits in China during the 16th-18th centuries and their contribution and cultural exchanges in astronomy, mathematics and cartography. He will examine such eminent scholars as Matteo Ricci, Xu Guangqi, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Ferdinand Verbiest, Xue Fengzuo, Wang Xishan and Mei Wending. Lecture is Saturday, August 14, 2004, at 6:00 pm in the Tien MegaDome Theater. Tickets are $5 at the door or available by calling the Box Office at 510-336-7373. Chabot Space & Science Center is at 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Directions found at www.chabotspace.org Denni Medlock Astronomy Programs Coordinator Chabot Space & Science Center 10000 Skyline Blvd. Oakland, CA 94619 From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Wed Aug 11 17:13:46 2004 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: Night Sky Network Message: NOVA Origins miniseries Telecon: DATE & DETAILS Message-ID: <003501c48001$3c6cea70$60d9fea9@Turtlerock> Any SJAA member is entitled to participate in this event. See instructions below Bob NASA Night Sky Network members: EXCLUSIVE NSN TELECON: PREPARE FOR NOVA ORIGINS MINISERIES Has the universe always existed? How did it become a place that could harbor life? Are we alone, or are there alien worlds waiting to be discovered? NOVA presents some startling new answers in Origins, a groundbreaking four-part NOVA miniseries airing on PBS television stations September 28 and 29, 2004. DETAILS ON THE NSN TELECON NOTICE: The date of the telecon has been changed to Wednesday, September 8th at 9 PM Eastern, 6 PM Pacific NASA has arranged for Night Sky Network club members to participate in this exclusive Telecon with the producer, Tom Levenson, and the host, Dr. Neil Tyson, of this NOVA series. Here is the call-in information: Wednesday, September 8th at 9 PM Eastern 6 PM Pacific. Call toll-free: 1-888-791-1856 anytime after 8:45 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday. You will be asked for the passcode: NIGHT SKY NETWORK You will be asked for the call leader: MICHAEL GREENE You will be asked to give your NAME and the CLUB you belong to. Remember, anyone from your club may call in and participate, so pass this announcement along! FREE SNEAK PREVIEW Watch your club's mailbox for a FREE PREVIEW DVD. This is a special mailing only to NASA Night Sky Network member clubs. This will be shipped a few days prior to the telecon so you can review this 18-minute preview of the NOVA Origins series before you participate in the conference. FREE DRAWING: >From among the clubs with members attending the September 8 telecon, TWO clubs will be drawn at random to receive a FREE copy of Dr. Tyson's soon-to-be-released book, "ORIGINS: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution". This NASA/NOVA partnership is a great opportunity for your club to plan some astronomy events around this miniseries. For more information on the NOVA series, www.pbs.org/nova/origins. Looking forward to talking with you on September 8th. And watch your club's mailbox for your free Origins DVD! Marni Berendsen Night Sky Network Administrator From pkohlmil at best.com Sun Aug 22 20:01:10 2004 From: pkohlmil at best.com (Paul Kohlmiller) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] September Issue of Ephemeris Now Online Message-ID: <000c01c488bd$71ca5b20$0500a8c0@eclipsys.lan> The September 2004 issue of the SJAA Ephemeris, newsletter of the San Jose Astronomical Association, is available online here: http://ephemeris.sjaa.net Paul and Mary Kohlmiller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20040822/9528dd07/attachment.html From koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net Fri Aug 27 15:21:29 2004 From: koopm at koopm.best.vwh.net (Michael Koop) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] General Meeting this Sat.: Observing the Sun Message-ID: SJAA General Meeting this Saturday, August 28th starting at 8 PM. At the Hall in Houge Park The SJAA presents Dr. Karel Schrijver from the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center Speaking on "The magnetic weather and climate of the Sun and its environment" Karel Schrijver is senior scientist at the Solar and Astrophysics group of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto. He completed his education, including his PhD work, and the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands. His thesis, entitled "Stellar magnetic activity; Complementing conclusions based on solar and stellar studies," laid the foundation for his career, looking both at the large sample of stars and the detailed case of the Sun. After postdoc positions at the University of Colorado and at The European Space Agency, and a fellowship of the Royal Academy of Sciences that brought him back to Utrecht, he joined the Lockheed Martin solar and astrophysics group, now almost nine years ago. While at Lockheed, he authored a textbook, with his former thesis advisor, Cees Zwaan, entitled "Solar and Stellar Magnetic Activity." He works primarily on data from the Michelson Doppler Imager on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and from the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer; he is the science lead on the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly for the future Solar Dynamics Observatory. He is a member of the editorial boards of Solar Physics, Living Reviews in Solar Physics, and Astronomical Notices. He has been on several NASA strategic planning teams, and is currently a member of the Space Studies Board of the National Academies. Karel promises to bring lots of pictures and explain the latest space probes monitoring the sun. Please join us for an enlightening evening. Websites of Interest: Karel Schrijver's Home Page: http://www.lmsal.com/~schryver/ LMMS Solar and Astrophysics Lab: http://www.lmsal.com/solarsites.html ************************************************* Directions to Houge Park: Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos. >From Hwy.17, take the Camden Avenue exit. Go east 4/10 mile, and turn right at the light, onto Bascom Avenue. At the next light, turn left onto Woodard Road. At the first stop sign, turn right onto Twilight Drive. Go three blocks, cross Sunrise Drive, then turn left into the park. >From Hwy.85, take the Bascom Avenue exit. Go north 0.2 miles, and turn right at the first traffic light, onto White Oaks Road. Run another 0.2 miles to the first stop sign, then turn left onto Twilight Drive. You will now be passing the park. Turn right at the first driveway, into the parking lot. See Map at http://www.sjaa.net/img/houge.jpg *********************************** Clear Skies, Mike Koop President, SJAA Email any comments, questions, or flames to Koopm at best.com From jvn at svpal.org Sun Aug 29 00:12:21 2004 From: jvn at svpal.org (Jim Van Nuland) Date: Fri Jul 29 03:57:06 2005 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Don Machholz discovers his 10th comet Message-ID: <413181D5.1B8C@svpal.org> Cross-post from TAC, original by Bob Czerwinski Don is a long-time member of SJAA, discovered his first in 1978 from Loma Prieta. His column "Comet Comments" ran in the SJAA Ephemeris for many years. He presently lives near Colfax, in California's gold country. Don is also expert on the Messier objects, being one of the first to see 'M all in one night. Congratulations, Don! -- Jim Van Nuland, San Jose (California) Astronomical Association JVN's home page >From Brian Skiff via the AMASTRO group: From: Brian Skiff From http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/RecentObs.html#headlines: IAU Circular 8394 (August 27, 2004) reports the visual discovery of a comet by our friend Don Machholz (Colfax, CA) - his 10th discovery - using a 25cm reflector. The comet was reported to be m1=11.2, coma diameter = 2' with a moderate degree of condensation. It is moving eastward (and slightly to the south) less than a degree per day. A position at Aug. 28.82 UT (based on a precise position by Rob McNaught and Gordon Garradd, Siding Springs, Australia reported on the same circular) for the comet is RA 4h 16m 41s, DEC -22 deg 23' 37s.